Propeller



J. A.. HORNE.

PRQPELLER. l

FILED AUG. 3.1. 192|.

S'SHI'QETS-SHEET l.

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Jan. 16, 1923. y LMgm.

J. A. HORNE.

PROPELLER.

FILED AuG.31.1921. 3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

.51 James Hof/'7e I ventilator,

Patented dan. i6, 1923.

JAMES A. HORNE, GF DENVER.

PROPELLER.

Application filed August 31, 1921.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that l. .JAMES A.. HoRNii, a citizen of the United States, residing at Denver, in the county of Denver and State of Colorado, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Propellers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to propellers for flying machines, boats, or other similar' vehicles, and is capable of use as a fan or and in other places. The object of the invention is to provide simple, compact and eicient means whereby the several propeller blades will be rotated about their own axes so as to be feathered as they operate and thereby obtain the maximum power upon their working stroke and minimize resistance upon their return stroke. The invention also has for its object the provision of means whereby the time of feath ering or the point at which the blades will be shifted in their movement may be con trolled.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings and will be hereinafter set forth, and in the said drawings,`

Figure 1 is a View, partly in plan and partly in longitudinal section, of one embodiment of my present invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the saine;

ig. 3 is an elevation showing another form of the invention;

Figs. 4 and 5 are detail views showing variations in the controlling gearing.

ig. 6 is a view, similar to Fig. 1, showing the application of the form of gearing illustrated in Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a detail section through the central group of gears shown in Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a detail of one of the pinions;

Fig. 9 is a plan view of means for independently or simultaneouslyv adjusting the propellers at the two sides of a vessel;

Fig. 10 is a detail showing another em,r` bodiment of the invention.

In the drawings, a portion of the frame of the vehicle is indicated at 1 and upon the said frame are brackets or standards 2 having bearings 3 at their upper ends to receive and support the controlling shaft or rod 4. Upon the controlling rod or shaft 4 is disposed a housing or tubular frame bar 5 secured at its opposite ends to a hub 6 and to a combined hub and gear casing 7 in any convenient or preferred manner. The main shaft or controlling rod 4 passes through the hub 6 and and casing from the said hub tubular frame bars of which are secure forming bearings ings and gear easings 11, as understood upon referen 8 are prefer Shafts 12 are disposed frame bars 9 and said shafts 12 are which mesh with a upon the casing 7, as clearly ends of the shafts Y, are with similar gears propeller blade sha being ournaled in the casing are mounted to said controlling rod.

beveled gear 6 and the c 7 and said hub rotate about the Extending radially asing 7 are 8 and 9. the outer ends respectively in castings 10 and combined bearwil ce to Fig. 1. ably hollow in order l be readily The without any loss of bars 9 are an the ate the lar also hollow frame bars 8 in ger casings 11. rotatably within the upon the inner ends of secured bevel beveled gear shown.

ed gears 13 '4 l i3 secured controlling rod 4 within the gear Upon the outer 12, within the gear cass 14 which mesh on the ends of the fts 16, the said shafts 16 the c bearings 10, as clearly shown.

blades 17 are secured tween the member planes or blades may and dimensions. Disposed loose controlling rod 4 cent side of the gea ing sprocket wheel 19 is trained, said 3, at the front side msm, 1s provi-ded and secured t asings 11 and in the Planes oi' to the shafts 16 be- O and 11 and these be of any desired form ly upon the o the adja case Z is the inai'n driv- 18 around which a chain chain being actuated any preferred form of with notches 20 which'are adapted to be en locking pin 21 mounted in the lever or handle 22 gageinent with one motor. The bearing` the propelling mechacontrolling secured upon the adja# cent end of the controlling rod or the reeesse 4, the said held normally in ens oi' notches 2O by a spring 28 coiled around the pin between the handle upon the pin.

When power is 22 and applied to the drivin sprocket 1S, the fr bars 8 and 9 and the parts conne will be caused to rotate about t an axis andthe blades or sequently, be cause lar path, and the blades or planes b other medium in serve to cause trav which they an abutment 24 ame consisting of the cted thereto he rod 4 as planes 17 will, cond to travel over a circuresistanee offered to the y the water, the air, or 110 operate will el of the veli icle, as will be readily understood. The rotation of the 'frame about the controlling rod a will obviously cause the gears 13 to rotate and roll upon the gear 13 secured to the controlling rod` the motion of the said gears 13 being transmitted to and through the shafts 12 to actuate the gears 14C and 15 and thereby effect rotation of the propelling blades or planes about their own axes so that during a portion of the travel of the frame the surfaces of the blades will be presented to the medium in `which they are operating, while during another portion, the edges of the blades or planes will be presented to such medium. .Xs a result of this movement of the individual planes or blades relative to the frame. the blades may be caused to generate the maximum power during their travel over the lower portion of their orbit to propel the vehicle forward and during their travel through the upper portion of their orbit will present their edges to the air or water so that the resistance to the return of thel blades to the working point will be overcome. The gears 14 and 15 are, in diameter, twice as great as the gears 13 and 9 so that the rotation of the blades or planes about their own aires will be slower than the rotation of the frame about its axis and this reduction of speed will. attain the maximum efficiency in the feathering ac.- tion of the blades. By rocking the controlling rod fl, through the medium of the handle Q2, the gears 13 may be rotated independently of the action imparted thereto through the motor and the gearing driven directly thereby so that the point or time of feathering the blades may be changed and this timing of the blades may be accomplished without stopping the motor or the propelling action. This setting of the blades may also be utilized to control the direction of travel of the vehicle or to reverse the same.

rlhe gear casings 7 and 11 are obviously hollow to accommodate the gears, and the casing 7 may be provided with any convenient means for admittingA oil thereto. The. casings 11 are provided with caps 25 extending over and covering openings formed in 'the outer walls of the casings andthese openings are large enough to admit the gears 14 and 15 so as to facilitate the assembling` of the parts. Of course, lubricant may be also placed in the casings 11 through the same openings.

ln. the form of the invention shown in Figs. 1 and 2, only two propeller blades are employed, the said blades heilig disposedat opposite ends of the frame and being at a right angle to each other when the frame is at rest. ln l? 3, l have shown. a form of the invention in which three carrying armsVlO are employed and a blade or plane 31 is mounted at the outer end of each arm,

the driving gearing and` the feathering mechanism being the same as in Figs; 1 and 2.

ln. Il, ll have illustrated an arrangement of the gearing in which the controlling rod carries a pinion 36 corresponding to the pinion 13 in Fig. 1, and the transmission shafts 37' are each equipped at its inner end withl a pinion 38 meshing with said pinion 3G but twice as large as said pinion, whereas in the form shown in Fig. 1, the pinions 13 and 13 are all' of the same diameter. rlhe pinions 39 and 410 corresponding to the pinions 14 and 15 in Fig. 1 are of equal diameter, but obviously the arrangement shown will reduce the speed of the propeller blade-carrying shaft 41 to the same degree as the arrangement shown in Fig. 1.

ln 5, l have shown the controlling rod a5 equipped with a mutilated gear comprising a semi-circular beveled tooth portion 16 which, in the operation of the machine, will be engaged alternately with the gears L17 upon the inner ends of the transmission shafts 48. r.lhe mutilated gear also includes a smooth-faced semi-circular member 119 which has a` greater4 radius than the gear portion 413 and has a rim presenting a flat face 5() to Ythe flat sides 51 on the hubs of the gears if? the transmission shafts 1S are successively carried, around the controlling rod L15.V ln this arrangement, during onehalf of the revolution of the propeller frame,` a blade will be rotating about its own axis and during the other half of the revolution of the frame the blade will be at rest relative to its own axis and will'A be held at rest by the engagement ofthe fiat hub sides 51 with the flat surfaceV 50 of the member 19. l am thus enabled to set". the mechanism so that, during half of the travel of the propeller frame, the blade will be held lirmly so as topresent its surface to the air or water, while, during, the other half of its travel, it will be'shifted so that its edge will be presented to the` air or water and the anglel of the blade relative tothe frame will vary so that its edge will be continuously presented to the air or waterJn'otwithstanding the shifting of the` position of the blade due to the movement of the frame.

lnllig. 10, a double sprocket pinion or a pulleyv is lixed to the controlling rod or shaft 61V and is connected by chains 0r belts o2 with the sprockets or` pulleys 6301i the. propeller shafts, the diameters ofthe sprockor pulleys 623 being4 twice the diameter of the pulley or sprocket 60. 64 designates the. frame bars to which motion is imparted from the motor.

In Fig. 9, TO designates the controlling rods which `are disposed within the hollow shafts 71 which are arranged transversely of the vessel and eXtend to the opposite sides thereof to carry propeller frames 72, being rotated by the sprockets 73 and chains 74 leading from the motor, as will be readily understood. Upon the end of each shaft 70 is a worm gea-r 75 meshing with a worm 76 on a controlling rod 77, said controlling rods being equipped with handles 78 whereby they may be independently set. Operatively connected with each controlling rod is an indicator 79 whereby the operator may be informed of the point at which each propeller will assume the working position. Between and parallel with the controlling rods 77 is a countershaft 80 which is slidable in its bearings and carries a gear 8l adapted to mesh with the gears 82 on the rods 77. 0bviously, if the countershaft be pushed for* ward so that the gear 8l meshes with the gears 82, the propellers at the two sides of the vehicle may be simultaneously adjusted by the manipulation of either rod 77, and if the gears be out of mesh, as shown, the propellers may be independently adjusted.

In all forms of the invention, the operating gearing, whereby the blades are feathered, is entirely enclosed within the propeller frame so that it is protected against damage from accidental blows and will, therefore, be in operative condition at all times. Moreover, it is direct acting with no lost motion and will attain the desired results positively vand with certainty. T he invention is particularly advantageous for application to the blades may be altered without stopping the motor and they may be set to eiect vertical ascent without a preliminary run and, after reaching the desired altitude, instantly changed to cause forward or backward flight.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

l. The combination of a plurality of ieathering propellers, a propeller-setting means, and means whereby the propeller-setting means may be caused to set any one or all the propellers.

In a propeller, the combination ol a rotatable propeller -frame, a controlling rod passing through and pivotally supporting said frame, bladesimounted at the ends of the frame, means for rotating the control ling rod, means for transmitting movement of the controlling rod to the blades comprising shafts housed in the frame and geared at their outer ends to the blades, beveled gears on the inner ends of said shafts having fiat-sided hubs, and a mutilated gear secured on the controlling rod to mesh alternately with said beveled gears, said mutilated gear having a flat-faced rim to engage the flatsided hubs of the beveled gears alternately.

In testimony whereof I alix my signature.

JAMES A. HoRNE. [1.. 5.]

aeroplanes as the adjustment of 

